


Homecoming

by runandgo



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Oh my god all the fluff, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5685490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runandgo/pseuds/runandgo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's standing in front of their flat, walking up to the door and then walking back out towards the curb, more nervous than the time they fought the chimaera.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> just a short little one-shot i wrote to get out of writer's block with my longer baz/simon fic. i wanted to write something a little fluffier between them but i needed a reason for the fluff - et voila, the long-distance relationship. i just love the little moments when we get to see just how much they need each other, so i cheated and wrote one myself :-)
> 
> this fic is completely un-betaed and un-britpicked, so any mistakes are my own american fault. comments make my day, so if you liked it, leave me a little note! i hope you enjoy!

It's mid-January, and it's freezing, and Baz is outside the flat. He's terrified to go in, so he stands outside on the sidewalk, pretending to stare at the sky and blowing hot air into his cupped hands. The red-checked scarf wound around his neck flutters in the wind, and his wand weighs heavy in his pocket.

Honestly, it's ridiculous that he's so nervous. He and Simon have been dating for almost three years, and roommates for eight before that; Baz has seen his face enough times to have it committed to heart. But this is different. 

The internship in Dublin was too good for Baz to turn down. He needed the experience badly, since his secondary school records obviously showed little trace of economic employment or education. So he found a flat, filled out the paperwork, went through the tedious process of moving to another city on another island. 

And he had to leave Simon at his school, in London. 

They thought it wasn't too hard. The first months were full of presents sent back and forth, endless good-morning-good-night-I-miss-you-I-love-you texts, doing classwork on Skype so it felt like they were sharing a space again, falling asleep on their mobiles to the sound of each other's breathing. Baz even possessed Penny, with her consent, but decided it was too weird and left her be after a half hour. 

Months went by, and it got harder and harder to keep going and stay positive. Baz's work increased, and he buckled down and slogged through it, but it was hard to not have Simon to come home to. Their texts petered slowly out, maybe once a day. The night and the day grew farther apart, each reaching out but seeming to miss the other's fingers. It was slow-motion, a dream drenched in molasses, their fatigue and distance keeping them sluggishly apart. 

And now Baz's internship had finally ended, and he'd flown back this morning, and he's standing in front of their flat, walking up to the door and then walking back out towards the curb, more nervous than the time they fought the chimaera. He lights a cigarette just to have something to do, so he doesn't just look like a ponce dressed in his designer coat and standing on a fairly shabby street. With the toe of his shiny black shoe, he nudges a plastic cup over and watches as it falls into the gutter, water rushing through the straw, then slowing to a regular spurt, like a false heartbeat pushing blood from the body. 

When Baz's cigarette burns down, he squares his shoulders and doesn't let himself hesitate, pushing his key in the door and entering into the flat building. It takes another few minutes of nervous stair-climbing before he's where he needs to be - their flat. Number 5. Though he has his key, he's still inclined to knock. 

He only has a split second to prepare himself before the door swings open and he sees Simon's face. His curls are overgrown and he's got dark circles under his eyes, but he is still Baz's golden, beautiful boyfriend. "Hallo," he grins, and the hallway fills with light. 

Baz could cry. There's a million things running through his mind right now, and they all want to come out of his mouth, but the one that wins is "What happened to your wings and tail?" 

"Oh." Simon turns around to check the seat of his pants out of habit. "I got them removed yesterday. I wanted it to be a surprise." 

Inexplicably, this is the moment where Baz's eyes fill with tears and he begins crying. It's not beautiful, lovely crying, the kind Agatha would do - it's snotty, blotchy-faced, pass-the-tissues crying. _Oh, Merlin._ This will be the moment Simon describes to Penny in lurid detail. _And then I told Baz about my surgery, and he started weeping and blubbering over my tail and wings in the middle of the hallway._

"What's wrong?" Simon looks around in alarm. "Crowley, Baz. If I'd known you were going to be this upset I would have waited!" He steps back to let his boyfriend in the flat. 

"No," Baz chokes out, finally managing to get ahold of himself with a shuddering breath. "No, that's not it. I just..." He closes his eyes and laughs a short, teary laugh. "I missed you, Snow. Simon." 

In two strides, Simon crosses the room and stands in front of Baz. With a touch of his hand to Baz's, the dark-haired boy drops his bags and brings a hand to his boyfriend's face. "I'm here, Baz. And I missed you too." 

Finally, they embrace, with Baz almost clinging on to Simon's arms. He's skinnier than before, and he's cold and exhausted, but his magic is sparking up to life inside. Even the empty shell of Simon's power is enough to wake up Baz's sluggish, hungry magic. 

Everything happens slowly, slower than before. The time - just the opportunity they have to share a space - is a luxury now. They end up on the couch, with Baz sitting curled up on Simon's lap, and Simon's hands are in his (too-long) dark hair, and Baz's hands are fisted in Simon's t-shirt and he's never letting go. They kiss until their mouths go numb, until Baz can only smell Simon's shampoo and there are marks all up his neck. They order takeaway from the Chinese place down the street, and eat it in the living room watching EastEnders. And they don't let go of each other. 

Later, Baz will explain to the wall - he can never bear to look at Simon when discussing his feelings because it's like staring at the fucking sun - how hard his job was, how he had to keep butcher's blood in his freezer to have any hope of feeding regularly, how he barely slept during his busiest weeks. Simon will kiss the knob at the top of his spine and talk in his calm, unaffected way about sleeping his days away, washing with Baz's soap and wearing his clothes because he missed his smell, Penny coming to drag him out of bed and to class. They will both apologize for not texting, and they will both accept it without words. In the morning, they will wake up locked in the same embrace they fell asleep in, better rested than they have been in months. 

For now, though, they share their lo mein and laugh at the telly. Baz glances over at his beautiful boyfriend, with a mouth full of noodles, and thinks that it's not the absence that makes the heart grow fonder. People leave all the time, and it doesn't particularly strengthen relationships - in fact, many times it ends them. The thing that keeps it going through the months, through the frustration and loneliness of absence, is the promise of a homecoming.


End file.
